‘Modern Family’ And ‘Criminal Minds’ Set Season Lows In Latest Ratings

Modern Family and Criminal Minds both set new season lows on Wednesday night, when even the American Idol juggernaut stumbled.

Hollywood Reporter notes Idol clinched the Wednesday night crown for Fox with an average 4.6 rating with adults 18-49 and 14.2 million viewers. However, the latest episode, a two-hour special, fell short by almost nearly an entire point on last week’s 5.5 rating.

Modern Family (3.8 adults), meanwhile, hit a new nadir in the ratings. After losing out to Lena Dunham’s Girls on a Golden Globe award last month, Wednesday’s Modern Family was off by four tenths of a point, setting a season low. CBS’ Wednesday evening was not much more celebratory – a new episode of Criminal Minds also plumbed to a season low rating of 2.7 adults.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the networks though. With a 1.8 rating, The Neighbors rose by two tenths of a point on last week’s instalment, and Suburgatory (2.1 adults) grew by three tenths of a point.

In other Modern Family news, Stephanie Beatriz has bagged the female co-lead role in the new cop comedy from Parks and Recreation‘s Dan Goor and Mike Schur.

Beatriz, who appeared as Sofia Vergara’s sister in one episode of Modern Family, was snapped up by Goor and Schur’s new show to play Meghan, an opinionated and sexy police officer who intimidates her cop colleagues.

The new comedy focuses on a varied selection of detectives at a New York precinct. Saturday Night Live alum Andy Samberg is already down to play the station’s top cop in the as-yet-untitled comedy.